WASHINGTON: US productivity declined at an annual rate of 1 percent in the first quarter, following a 1.7 percent decline in the fourth quarter of last year, the US Department of Labor reported on Wednesday.
The weakness in productivity for the first quarter was not surprising since the US’ overall output, as measured by GDP, grew at a rate of just 0.5 percent in the first three months of the year, the slowest pace in two years.
Meanwhile, labor costs rose at a rate of 4.1 percent in the first quarter, reflecting rising wages.
